Coming up with great storage solutions for your kids’ toys and paraphernalia can often be hard – not this one though! If dress up clothes are taking over your life then make this DIY dress up closet now! A bookcase is all you’ll need to get started and create dress up storage to save your sanity and a dress up station your little one will love!
The circus has discovered princesses.
Specifically Belle and Cinderella.
She’s also discovered ballerinas and cowgirls and doctors.
And she wants to be all those things.
Numerous times throughout the day.
Luckily, she hasn’t morphed into a total girly girl. Let’s be honest – I don’t know if I could handle that.
Its more like tutu one minute and mud the next.
I’ll take that any day over constant tea parties and tiaras.
I thought I had the dress-up department confined to one box.
And then her birthday happened.
Suddenly, it was as if all of Broadway’s costume department threw up in her room.
There were meltdowns over not being able to find Ariel’s shoes to wear with Sophia’s dress – not to mention all the other princess dresses that were lost to the hurricane that went through her room.
It was around that time that a great idea finally hit me as to what I would do for the IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack that HomeRight asked me to participate in – it would become a super cute kids dress up closet.
Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with HomeRight. However, all opinions and love of easy hacks that prevent meltdowns are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
I can’t begin to tell you how much the kid loves her new dress up storage. I’ve only heard that many “wows” from her once or twice before.
And more importantly, mama hasn’t had to go on a mad search into a pile of never-ending dress up clothes for a missing Belle shoe.
I almost feel bad calling this a “hack” because it was so easy, but technically its not what its meant to be, so that is a hack, right? And the easier the hack the better.
P.S. The bookcase is only $40. If you have paint and a mirror lying around to use, there’s a pretty good chance you can get out of this thing for $50.
That’s a small price to pay to end meltdowns and keep your sanity.
Also, it doesn’t have to be an IKEA bookcase – any mid-size bookcase will do!
DIY Dress Up Station
Materials and Supplies Needed:
- IKEA Billy Bookcase (the smaller one) or Another Similar Sized Bookcase
- Wood Dowel Rod
- Nail Gun
- Mirror
- HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer
- Paint Color of your Choice
- Polycrylic
Steps
Step 1:
First off, you just want to assemble the bookcase as the directions say. The only thing you don’t need to worry about is putting in the shelves.
Step 2:
Cut the dowel rod down to the width of the bookcase opening. Place the dowel where you would like it and use a nail gun to secure the dowel in place on either side of the bookcase.
You can also do this with a drill and a couple of screws if you prefer. I opted for the nail gun because it was easier. It also helps to have someone hold the dowel in place and make sure its level as you attach it to the bookcase. Not that mine wasn’t level the first go-round or anything.
If you have another kind of hanging bar lying around, you could use that too as long as it fits within your bookcase and is sturdy enough for hanging clothes on.
Painting the Kids Dress Up Closet
Step 3:
Paint the bookcase and shelves.
For this hack, I got to use one of my favorite toys and a new toy that is quickly becoming a favorite.
HomeRight just introduced their Spray Shelter. It is the best thing ever for painting in a garage or similar enclosed area. It keeps any paint overspray contained and takes less than 10 minutes to set up.
My husband only wishes they had made it sooner so that his beloved tiller wasn’t speckled with black, kelly green, and navy dots. 🙂
To paint the bookcase, I used my HomeRight Finish Max paint sprayer. This sprayer is by far the easiest paint sprayer I’ve ever used and gives a perfect fine finish. The best part is that no air tank is required – you just plug it in and go.
Since this piece is solely for the circus, I asked her what color she wanted it painted. She said blue. I had some Boheme by Velvet Finishes on hand, so that was what we went for. I thinned the paint with water before spraying it on.
To paint the shelves, I just laid them out on 2 x 4’s across sawhorses.
Step 4:
After the paint was good and dry, I gave the bookcase a good topcoat of Polycrylic, then cleaned the paint sprayer.
HomeRight has another new toy that makes cleaning the sprayer a breeze.
Its called the Rapid Clean. You hook one end up to a water hose, the other up to your paint sprayer, turn on the water and pull the trigger.
You’re all done with cleaning in a matter of minutes.
Step 5:
Once the topcoat was dry, I placed the shelves toward the bottom of the bookcase and took it up to the kid’s room.
Mama saved the day with a mirror that she had hung onto from her childhood home. To make sure the mirror was secure, I found a stud in the wall behind where the bookcase would be, then marked that spot on the bookcase and cut out a small hole. There, I drilled a screw into the stud that I then hung the mirror on.
The lower shelves hold shoes and hats.
I also made some DIY animal jewelry holders for the side of the dress up center.
I topped it off with quote art (which pretty much sums the circus up) in a DIY lucite frame as well as a DIY sunglasses holder.
And a DIY headband holder.
Well, what do ya think?
Not too shabby for an easy $50 IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack, eh?
Looking for more great projects to bring a smile to your kid’s face?
This DIY Children’s Stage with Hidden Dress-Up Storage has brought our little girls countless hours of fun!
Easiest Ever DIY Lemonade Stand – perfect for those little budding entrepreneurs in your life!
How to Create an Object and Text Feature Wall for Your Little One – the perfect way to add a punch of their own special personality to their room.
This diy wall-mounted drop down art desk has kept my little girl occupied for hours.
DIY Kids’ Play Table with Storage – she loves playing farm on this table! It’s great for all kinds of things!
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